Can ONE Championship Ride the Digital Wave to Domination? CEO Chatri Sityodtong says the content is tailored for mobile devices' and has 2 billion fans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - 11:21 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The UFC may be the first thing that comes to mind in the U.S. when it comes to mixed martial arts (or MMA). But Chatri Sityodtong, founder/CEO, ONE Championship, makes clear that his goal is to combat that perception and become not only the dominant MMA brand globally but also the dominant sports brand globally, especially given that 80% of its fans are millennials.
To watch an entire EPL, NBA, or NFL game on a mobile device is impossible. Our events may be four hours long, but 70% of fights end within 3 minutes, says Sityodtong. It is exciting content that is tailored for mobile devices and an estimated 2 billion fans around the world.
ONE Championship's Chatri Sityodtong spoke at the recent Sportel Asia in Singapore.
For many people in the U.S., the dominance of the UFC as a cultural stakeholder has warped the perception of mixed martial arts. ONE Championship's focus is on MMA disciplines like karate, muay thai, kung fu, and judo. Each discipline resonates deeply in at least one region of Asia, and, collectively, they give ONE Championship cultural relevance across Asia and with MMA fans around the globe.
Sityodtong sees the UFC in stark contrast to ONE Championship. It's like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, he explains. UFC is focused on selling fights, violence, blood sport, and antagonism and hatred, while we are focused on building and unleashing real-life heroes who ignite the world of hope, strength, and dreams. It is a very different approach and very different DNA, and I think it comes with the fact that I am a lifelong martial artist, which results in a much different approach than if I was purely a business man.
The rise of mobile devices, he adds, has been a key driver for ONE Championship.
Social media has really propelled us: everything is transparent, and it either resonates or it doesn't, he explains. We have amazing heroes and technology platform and a virtuous cycle that would not have been possible without technology.
ONE Championship's media presence includes a mix of free-to-air television, cable, and $9.99 event live streams. The company says it now has a broadcast footprint in 118 countries and its social-media video views have topped 2.6 billion. And it now has dedicated teams to deliver content to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as well as to seven offices across Asia.
We have a big competitive advantage in Asia against the global sports properties: we have local content with local relevance and yet global appeal, he points out. Our local offices are engaged culturally, and we understand the sensitivities as Asian countries are all different when it comes to type of government, history, customs, and culture. And they may only be an hour apart.
Along with the launch of a new app later this year, the ONE Championship technical team's R&D department is experimenting with AR and VR.
We are a technology-content company as much as we are a sports-media property, he adds. We have a full army of engineers in India focused on technology, as it is a vital part of our strategy as a company.
We are the number-one sport in Asia, he continues. We celebrate Asia's greatest cultural treasure, Asian values, and Asian heroes on a global stage. And, by all metrics, we will be ahead of F1 by the end of the year.
His mention of F1 is fitting: his goal is to propel ONE Championship into the valuation realm of global sports brands.
Every region has several billion-dollar sports properties, and Asia has nothing, he says. The NFL has a market cap of $75 billion, and it is a single-country sport. Here in Asia, we have 4.4 billion people. And martial arts is Asia, and Asia is martial sports. It is something that is scalable and can make it the most valuable sports property in the world. It's not impossible.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
Can ONE Championship Ride the Digital Wave to Domination? CEO Chatri Sityodtong says the content is tailored for mobile devices' and has 2 billion fans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
